southern comfort

Photo © Brian Sorg

After getting a tease of spring in New Orleans and looking to make something out of what we had (while also needing a detox after all that southern food), we went for our go-to summer salad. While best in summer, when the ingredients are found at the market, we made do w/frozen corn & threw in a zucchini that was leftover from veggie patties. So, while this is certainly the opposite of cooking seasonally, it's definitely a comfort food of ours! Also, it's as easy as chopping and combining, so that's an added bonus.

Southwestern Confetti Salad
1 cup cooked black beans (soak 1/2 cup overnight, boil ~2 hrs/drain, or 1 can black beans)
1 - 2 sm zucchinis, diced
1 shallot, minced
1 cup thawed frozen corn
1 - 2 red/green/yellow pepper, diced
2 jalapenos, seeded, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
3 -4 limes, zested & juiced
1 tsp cayenne (more if you prefer spice)
Salt & pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together and allow to sit at least an hour for ingredients to marry. An option for added protein is to throw in some quinoa, but brian's feeling on quinoa is 'not my favorite' (while my feeling is 'it's my favorite'), but relationships are about compromise, right? I say this as a person who is working on loosening the control and bringing in more of that compromise...I'd say it's a work in progress and I'm not sure what Brian would say. Fortunately he's not around to poll on the matter so I say progress is happening :)

on foods

I don't eat meat, a lifestyle which was gradual and made the most sense for me, especially given my propensity for vegetables and legumes. I'll put almond milk in a smoothie, but in general my dairy intake is pretty low...except for cheese. There are always hunks of parmigiana reggiano & pecorino romano in the fridge & I snack on slices of manchego, brie (triple cream), blue (camembert), or my other standbys (sartori bellavitano or midnight moon) all day. I'm not sure I could ever give up dairy completely, nor could I go fully vegan (even if stella mccartney could dress me every day). You can only do your best and what makes the most sense for you!

At any rate, I've been experimenting with laying off cheese out of curiosity as I am Asian and lactose intolerance is common. This kale/quinoa pilaf is a fave as it is simple & delicious, so I eliminated the goat cheese & added more pine nuts, which is always a good idea in general.

One Pot Kale & Qunioa Pilaf
1 cup quinoa (I used red, but any kind works)
2 cup salted water
1 bunch kale, washed/chopped into 1" pieces (stems discarded)
3 tbsp or more toasted pine nuts (watch them closely, they burn easily so pull off heat as soon as fragrant)
3 scallions chopped
zest and juice of one small lemon (I like meyer if you can find)
~a tbsp of olive oil
salt and pepper
goat cheese (optional)

1. Bring water to boil, add quinoa, cover and turn to down to simmer for 10 min. Top with kale, re-cover, then simmer 5 more min. Turn off heat and allow to steam for 5 min.

2. Combine scallions, oil, zest and juice & pine nuts. Check quinoa, kale should be bright green & quinoa should have absorbed the water. Toss all together, salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!

Photos © Rex Waters

Morning Musings

I dream of a morning which consists of a leisurely cup of coffee over the paper, easing into a wildly productive day. Cut to reality, which consists of a futile search for matching socks, frantically thawing Stella & Chewy's for my dog (more on this wonderful company later), needing google phone to call & locate my missing blackberry, throwing jewelry on at a red light...and on and on.

via tumblr

No matter how late I am though, there are two things I cannot live without. The first is my venti Americano, black, waiting for me (it's easy to make friends with the barista when 3/4 of them are named Katie).








The other is a smoothie, whipped up while waiting for my hair to dry, in a blender that is older than I am. Who said multi-tasking was counter-productive? *Actually, studies have, but that's for another time...

Ball Jar Smoothie - serves 2
1 frozen banana (I discard the skins of a bunch of ripe bananas, then freeze them all in a bag)
1 cup frozen berries (a mix of rasperries/blueberries/strawberries is my favorite)
1 - 2 frozen peach slices (optional)
Handful of almonds/walnuts/sunflower seeds, whatever is on hand
1 tbsp un-shelled hemp seeds (if you need a protein boost)
1 cup plain almond milk
1 tbsp Vanilla protein powder (I like Tera's Whey, which can be found at Whole Foods)

Throw all together in the mixer and blend until smooth...this takes a while with that ancient blender. Pour into a Ball jar (because everything looks better in a Ball jar) and enjoy!

Photos © Brian Sorg